March 2007

HERITAGE VOLUNTEERS DAY AT WINDLESHAM ON 23 MARCH 2007

Five members of the Shoe Support Group at Farnham Museum, Margaret Cothay, Anne Weeden, Jean Stowe, Collette Martin and Vicky Jackson attended this action packed and highly informative day organised by Pam Darlington on 23 March 2007 in Windlesham.  Several groups demonstrated their speciality which ranged from goldwork to netting and darning with the Farnham Five showing how they went about making the silk covered shoe supports for footwear ranging from crystal embroidered evening pumps to a tiny pair of toddler’s boots.

Later there were talks about the Farnham Museum’s archive of hats,  Shere Museum and the about-to-be-opened Lightbox Museum and exhibition centre in Woking, all  of which needed volunteers for a wide variety of jobs.

After the delicious lunch the Farnham Five were in the spotlight as professional conservator, Mrs Tinker, followed up her earlier talk and slide show by demonstrating how to make a basic hat mount which the Farnham Five, together with two colleagues from Godalming, tried earnestly to copy.  The result, together with a crib sheet prepared by Mrs Tinker, will be used as a guide at Farnham Museum when the Heritage Volunteer Group complete their shoe support task and move on to hats – some of which are quite extraordinary.

 

L S LOWRY - A VISIONARY ARTIST

The Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society met on March 20th 2007 to hear a talk by Mr Michael Howard on L.S.Lowry.

Before the lecture Mrs. Frances Ashworth announced that there would be opportunities to see Porgy and Bess at the Savoy Theatre, London as Mrs G. Dyche has been offered half price tickets for performances in April. Mrs Dyche also has reserved seats for the Glyndebourne Touring Company visiting Woking in the autumn. Members interested in these shows are asked to contact Mrs Dyche.

For those going to Berlin, The Berlin Philharmonic Symphony will be playing works by Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky on May 26th and 27th. Tickets must be booked in advance.

Mrs Ashworth then introduced Mr. Michael Howard who is a lecturer, author, and artist. His talk was entitled ‘L.S.Lowry, a visionary artist’.

Laurence Stephen Lowry is a well-loved artist whose paintings are known all over the world. He was a self styled ‘Simple Man’ who used simple materials but the whole picture of the man himself tells a different story.

He was born in 1876 in Manchester, the only child of middle class parents. His mother, whom he adored, was an opera singer. Lowry painted in his spare time as he worked as a rent collector and this enabled him to observe ordinary scenes of people where he lived. His paintings, done largely from memory with the aid of sketches, earned him a reputation as a visionary artist of international repute. His paintings could be seen to be visual music to which we listen with our eyes. The ‘Basso Profundo’ of the Venetian style factories and warehouses contrasted with the lighter notes of the colourful houses and the people. He painted as a spectator, searching for the meaning of life, and in order to belong he sometimes painted himself into the picture.

After the death of his parents and the beginning of the war his paintings became more sombre as he recorded the smoky mills of Manchester and then the bombing. However there could still be humour in the sight of children playing.

His technique was based on a palette of red, blue and yellow with black and white from which he derived all the colours he required for his tonal style of painting. He also used textural techniques, which entailed building up layers of paint, and pictures could take up to a year to finish. He painted landscapes and paintings of the sea where, perhaps, the meaning of life may be at the end of a road or over the horizon in a seascape. He leaves a heritage of a spiritual journey taken by a man with complex feelings, searching for an answer to the human condition.

Mr. Howard’s enlightening talk gave a new insight into the visionary paintings and sketches of Mr. L.S Lowry who could never again be thought of as a ‘Simple Man’.

 

FDFAS YOUNG ARTS DISPLAY AT FARNHAM TOWN MEETING

The Young Arts Volunteer Group of FDFAS was invited by the Farnham Town Council to put together a display of our 2006 Schools Art Exhibitions photographs for the Town Meeting of Electors.    This was held on 8 March 2007 at the Maltings in Farnham.

It gave all the organisations like ourselves, who benefit from funding by the Town Council, a good opportunity to interest the general public in the work of our Society and recruit local members to join FDFAS.

The Mayor of Farnham, Councillor David Attfield presented an overview of what the Council does at the Meeting that followed the Displays and Mr Gavin Stride, the Director of The Maltings was the guest speaker.   To quote Cllr Attfield: "I wanted to encourage residents to come along and find out if they could make the community a better place to live and work in."